1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronically performed sales and other transactions in which a receipt is issued and, more specifically, to the issuance of electronic transaction receipts to buyers and product information to third parties.
2. Description of the Related Art
Receipts are issued to participants in transactions to provide evidence that the transaction has been completed. Merchants, banks and others have long issued paper printed receipts to customers. The advent of electronic transactions has led to the issuance of receipts in electronic or computer-readable format. For example, in electronic commerce (“e-commerce”) transactions conducted via the global super-network referred to as the Internet, receipts are typically issued in the form of an electronic mail (“e-mail”) message to the buyer. Such electronic receipts can be stored, organized, transmitted, searched, and generally managed with considerable convenience over physical printed receipts.
It would be desirable to conveniently provide electronic receipts to consumers, and to manufacturers or their representatives. The present invention addresses these problems and deficiencies and others in the manner described below.